Chapter 54 The Two Armies Converge and Conspiracy in Palembang

After several battles at sea, the power of the Yaogang Navy against their own warships has been very numerous. In this attack on Palembang, Fan Chengkun only sent two warships, one was the 1,800-ton Guangzhou and the other was the 1,500-ton Fenzhou, and the other ships were helping Wu Sangui and them to transfer personnel and materials to North America. However, the 20,000-ton and 5,000-ton cargo ships that transported Li Jing and his army were equipped with six-barreled 12.7-mm rifles and some 65-mm direct-fire guns.

The warships and troop transports converged at the port of Manchurka (Malacca). Li Jing came to the dock, Liu Chenghuang was already waiting for him here, and the warship arrived a day before Li Jing and their ship.

In Manchu (Malacca), Li Jing and Liu Chenghuang gathered together the information they had gathered.

The Dutch East India Company, after losing Lesser Ryukyu (Taiwan), focused on Sumatra and Java, Palembang, a port heavily guarded by the Dutch.

Palembang is located in the southeast of Sumatra and straddles both sides of the Makusai River, and the main defense facilities of Palembang are St. John's Castle and St. Nicholas' Castle at the entrance to the harbor. The castle to the north is called St. John's Castle and the south is called St. Nicholas Castle. These two castles guard the gates of Palembang.

Li Jing said to everyone: "These two castles are built of stone, our special forces can dive over, and there should be no problem in boarding the castle at night after going ashore, and when they control the cannons on the castle, our ship will come over, and things will be easy!" ”

"Huh!" Liu Chenghuang smiled and said: "Deputy commander, I don't think there is any need to make so much trouble, our two warships, just go over and crash their castle and rush over." I think that after landing, the natives there will not be convinced of us, and it will take a little effort! ”

Although Li Jing's level is higher than Liu Chenghuang, they are all old men from Yaogang, and they have a very good relationship, and they don't need to be polite when they speak.

Originally, Li Jing meant to let his special forces go out to show their skills, but what Liu Chenghuang said was also that although the two castles in Palembang were very strong, they were nothing to the naval guns of the Yaogang people, but they provided them with an opportunity to show the power of the giant cannons. The opponents are concentrated in the castle, which is the favorite thing of the kiln people.

However, there is also a very bad news from Sumatra, that is, after the Hongmaofan (Dutch) lost Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan), they carried out a crazy persecution of the Chinese in Sumatra and Java.

After Li Jing listened to these introductions, she didn't speak for a long time, and finally Li Jing smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that there are a lot of things after we land!" I think that as long as we Chinese are not dead, we can remember who participated in the robbery. We can also encourage locals to report these atrocities. Those who do not report it will be punished as the same crime! ”

Liu Chenghuang said: "Deputy commander, rest assured, we have also dealt with such a matter in Luzon, and I believe that we will handle such a matter well!" Also, there are still some Japanese who have slipped through the net, and we need to pay attention to them at all, and we must not let them escape! ”

The army rested, carried out a simple mobilization and set off.

The flotilla controlled its speed and, at dawn, came to the front of Palembang. However, what everyone didn't expect was that at dawn they found three merchant ships with red hair. There is also a French merchant ship, which is meeting the Kiln Gang fleet.

The radio detector on the Guangzhou also found a few ships in front, but there were too many ships coming and going in the Strait of Malacca, and I didn't expect that the ship of the red hairy fan was in front.

When the other ship was found at dawn, it was already very close, Li Jing and Liu Chenghuang both came to the command room of the 20,000-ton ship Qinghai Lake, Liu Chenghuang said: "It seems that the sneak attack is not possible." We don't sink them, they will also fire artillery to inform Palembang. ”

Li Jing said: "Then you're welcome! Strike first! ”

Liu Chenghuang asked the captain of the Qinghai Lake to order the Guangzhou and Fenzhou through the radio to open fire and sink the Hongmaofan's ship. After a while, the captain of the Canton asked on the radio: "What about another ship with the French flag?" ”

Li Jing took the microphone angrily and said, "Why do you fucking look like a bitch!" If you sail a ship with a cannon, as long as it is not ours, you will sink it no matter who you encounter in the future! ”

The captain of the Guangzhou was scolded, and he didn't dare to say a word, Li Jing's prestige in the army was too high! can be scolded by Li Jing, not everyone has a chance! The captain of the Canton poured his anger on the ships in front.

After listening to Li Jing's scolding, Liu Chenghuang clapped his hands and said, "That's right! From now on, we will set a rule. No ship that comes to our East to do business is to bring cannons. Otherwise, it will be regarded as armed aggression, and the security of the sea will be guaranteed by our navy. Inform the people of the world that once all pirate ships have captured all personnel in our jurisdiction, they will be imprisoned for life, and all big and small leaders will be executed! ”

Li Jing said: "There are very few pirates in the West now, and there are some small boats doing some things like stealing chickens and dogs!" ”

"The matter of piracy must go to the roots, otherwise we can't require all merchant ships not to carry cannons!" Liu Chenghuang said.

"Knock knock!" There was a cannon sound outside, and Li Jing and Liu Chenghuang both picked up the binoculars and looked at them.

The bow of a Dutch ship had been blown up, and the mast and sails were towing the entire ship on its side. Many crew members fell into the sea, and some were shaking with some ropes. Suddenly, another shell hit the middle of the ship, and a puff of smoke flew up along with the corpses of the crew and parts of the sail rigging, and the whole ship was spread out on the sea and became a pile of floating garbage on the sea.

Then, the ship flying the French flag, which had fled to the side in a hurry, was hit by a single shot. The cannonballs hit the mast, and the flying masts were dragged back by the locks and fell into the sea with the sails, but the cannonballs set the sails on the masts on fire anyway, and the whole sail mast became a torch. Before the ship could burn down, another shell hit it, estimated to be a 203 mm caliber shell, and the ship was blown to pieces at once!

At this time, the two red-haired boats in front of them couldn't escape, and when they dropped their sails, it meant surrender. But one of the sails was halfway down and was hit by two shells in quick succession. It also turned into a pile of marine garbage.

"Huh!" Li Jing was amused, "The little rabbit cubs are also looking at it, a boat can pull a lot of things!" ”

Liu Chenghuang also said with a little pity: "These guys, it's a little unbearable to kill!" Come on, let's get some people, and we need a lot of labor to do when we go ashore! ”

Of the four ships, two of the sunken Dutch ships were more than eight hundred tons, one French ship and the captured ship were more than a thousand tons.

All four ships felt that the wind was in the right direction today, and they had just come out of Palembang with a full load. Unexpectedly, as soon as the morning dawned, I encountered the fleet of the kiln gang people. They have received information that it is likely that the fleet of Yaogang is going to take action against Palembang, and they just want to get out of here as soon as possible. Originally, they took advantage of the wind to avoid the Yaogang fleet, thinking that the Yaogang people might let them go for the sake of Palembang, but they didn't expect the Yaogang people to give them a chance to escape.

However, the small battle on the battlefield fought in front of Palembang really alarmed the defenders of Palembang.

The Dutch East India Company's governor of Sumatra, Yi Yi, was already frightened, he knew that the Ming Dynasty's armies, conquering Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan) was like a bag, and the occupation of Luzon (Spain) was also like playing. Western countries organized a siege of the Ming Dynasty warships, but they were also beaten to the ground and vulnerable. The Governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia (Jakarta) proposed to the company's board of directors several times to withdraw from the South Seas, but the members of the Board of Directors strongly disagreed, and they would not give up the South Seas, which brought them huge profits. The Queen of the Netherlands also promised to unite the nations against the barbaric Orientals, and resolutely refused to allow them to withdraw. But it is easy to understand that I don't know when the army of the Ming Dynasty will fight, it is they who are unlucky, and it is the directors who do not need to take risks at all.

The information that the Ming Dynasty was coming to attack had been transmitted several times, and it was all false alarms, but they knew that the Ming Dynasty army had occupied Manchurka (Malacca) across the strait, and they could attack at any time. There were very few ships left in Palembang, and yesterday several ships were ready to leave port together, and Palembang also handed over all his possessions to the ships for them to take back to Holland. This time, I received news that a Ming Dynasty warship docked at the port of Manchurka (Malacca), afraid that the Ming Dynasty army would suddenly call, and before dawn in the morning, taking advantage of the right wind, several ships set sail together to leave Palembang.

Originally, he wanted to go back and sleep again, but suddenly the port "bang" sounded the sound of the alarm. Only in very urgent situations can the alarm be called by the sound of cannons. Knowing that it must be the Ming Dynasty fleet, he was shocked, and he thought that his property was on a ship out of the port, and he suddenly knelt down to ask God to bless his property despite the gaze of his servants, which was the result of most of his life's hard work, and he must not lose it.

After a while, the attendant reported: "There is news from our castle that there is a naval battle outside the port, and they only fired a warning when they heard the sound of cannons!" ”

When he heard the news, his legs weakened, and he knew that his property was unlucky. Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Enter the combat state immediately!" ”

There is no need to change orders, the Hongmao Fan (Dutch) of the entire Palembang, as well as Westerners from other countries, are all dressed up. These were Western merchants and servants who could not leave Palembang, and they all knew that now they had to unite and deal with the Ming Dynasty army that had come to them. If nothing else, the Ming Dynasty army could not forgive them for their crimes of massacring and looting the Chinese.

Due to the contraction of the Dutch, there were more than 4,000 people who could participate in the war here in Palembang, and nearly 1,000 people from Britain, France, Spain, France and other countries. There are also more than 20,000 or 30,000 locals. These locals also followed the Hongmaofan to rob and plunder the Chinese, and they were also afraid that the Ming Dynasty army would come over.

The Dutch and other Westerners entered the castles of St. John and St. Nicholas, and some of the locals had to enter the castles. Those locals, arranged all over the streets and alleys, demanded that they engage in street battles with the Ming army that had landed.

For a while, there was chaos inside St. John's Castle and St. Nicholas' Castle, and the inside of Palembang Street was even more smoky, and those locals once again took the opportunity to start harassing the Chinese. The men in the streets and alleys cry and the women scream, which is very miserable.

But the Chinese here, no one dared to resist, they hoped that the Ming Dynasty army would come over, but for hundreds of years, no one had ever made the decision for them, and they couldn't believe that there was really someone who could come to help them. It's already their habit to be submissive. But the chaos is in front of us, which means that hope is also in front of us. The Chinese looked forward to the Ming Dynasty army.

When Li Jing saw St. John's Castle and St. Nicholas Castle clearly with a telescope, she couldn't help but say, "Ouch! These two castles are really beautiful! He put down the binoculars and said to Liu Chenghuang: "Old Liu! It's ours, it's a pity that it's all blown up, right? ”

"It's a pity, but if we don't blow them up, our ship is in danger!" Liu Chenghuang said.

Li Jing rolled her eyes and asked, "How about blowing up one and leaving one?" ”

"It's dangerous to keep one!" Liu Chenghuang said.

"So, listen to me, concentrate all your fire on this castle to the south." Li Jing said, "Let our special forces prepare to go into the water!" ”

It took a while for a squadron of more than 100 special forces to fill up the diving cylinders, but Li Jing insisted on this, the fleet had to wait, the special forces were ready, Li Jing ordered them to take a rubber boat into the water, and then said to Liu Chenghuang: "Now start shelling!" ”

Two 203-caliber cannons on the Canton and Fenzhou, ten 130-caliber cannons, and dozens of 65-millimeter direct-fire guns mounted on cargo ships, fired at the Castle of St. Nicholas to the south!

The castle of St. Nicholas in the south is built of stone, which is very strong, but this solidity, compared to anything, will turn into flying stones in front of the kiln cannons, mixed with the body parts of the soldiers in the castle.

Especially the 203-mm heavy guns, each shell explosion will shake Palembang to the ground, and a large hole will be blown out of the castle, not to mention the nearby soldiers, who are deafened to death by the explosion.

He was very lucky to hide in St. John's Castle to the north, and when he saw the ravaged castle opposite, he did not draw a cross on his chest, thanking him that St. John's Castle was not attacked. Seeing that some of the officers and soldiers fled from the opposite St. Nicholas Castle, it was easy to understand that now the Ming Dynasty naval military is concentrating all the firepower to bombard St. Nicholas Castle, and after a while, it will be bombarded here immediately. So he ordered an officer to command here, and he said that he wanted to find a way to support the castle of St. Nicholas opposite, so he left the castle of St. John with his retinue.

The officer was no more stupid than See, and he also knew that the shells would fall here in a moment, and when he saw Seeyi gone, he immediately ordered the artillery on the castle battery to shoot at the sea. The gunners said that the target was outside the effective range, and the officer shouted: "Damn! At range, we won't have a chance to fire! ”

After two rounds of firing of the cannon, the officer took the opportunity to find an excuse to run away. He didn't want to wait here to die.

When Li Jing's special forces rowed rubber boats close to the shore, they put on breathing apparatus one by one, turned over like water, and swam underwater in the direction of St. John's Castle to the north of the harbor.

The squadron leader who led the team, when he landed, hid behind the reef and reported the situation to Li Jing.

Li Jing didn't talk too much nonsense, "Act according to the plan!" ”

The special forces are all lying in the sea again.

The guns of the warships at the kiln gang turned, and in addition to the 203 caliber cannons, they carried out an artillery bombardment on St. John's Castle. As soon as the explosion passed, the soldiers inside St. John's Castle immediately rushed to the outside of the castle like bees that had exploded their nests.

The special forces immediately went ashore, unloaded the diving equipment, and threw a hook with a rope to the castle, and several special forces soldiers quickly climbed up the castle, and saw that there was no enemy on the castle wall, so they quickly tied the rope and threw it down, and soon a large number of special forces boarded the castle.

Li Jing and Liu Chenghuang watched all this after they used up their telescopes, and after the special forces sent out to climb and occupy the castle, Li Jing said to Liu Chenghuang: "Let's enter the port!" The rest is up to you! ”